Archive for November, 2008

My dear friends Rajita and Ajay Bagga were among the fortunate survivors fromthe Taj, after spending the entire night there. She sent her inspiring, cathartic experience to us today, and has graciously allowed me to share this intensely personal message with you all. Raju, we are so glad that you and Ajay are safe, and join you in thanking Guruji. Truly, there is a huge task ahead, and will need all our combined strength to accomplish.

“Dearest Ones

Jai Gurudev

There are no words to describe what we are going through after our miraculous
escape after 12 hours in captivity at the Taj.

There is still a sense of daze & shock, there is fear ( after the continous
sounds last 60 hours of grenades and gun firing) even the sound of a spoon
falling is alarming, anger & rage at the total breakdown of security and the
system , but above all, there is a huge huge huge huge sense of gratitude.

Gratitude to Guruji for giving us another life. As more is being revealed, 4
terrorists were in the kitchen of the chambers , just about 10 feet from the
room we were in.They killed the chefs there. There was nothing stopping them
from just turning left and come our way. It was almost like some indescribable
force was between them and us. Knowledge of living in the present moment and
present moment is inevitable was never never before a living reality for us.
When they evacuated us after 12 hours, there was blood ,broken glass pieces,
grenade remnants all strewn across the corridor outside our room. That’s how
close they came.

When we did come out and escaped another round of fresh firing at us as we were
walking outside the Taj, the 1st call just that moment we got was from Guruji
confirming that we were out and safe. It was almost as though He had escorted
us out ! I was so shaken , I could barely stand let alone speak and He said to
me, “When I am with you, how can anything touch you.come on be brave . Kya
darti hai, main hun na ”

Throughout the night, Bhanudidi kept calling and smsing us , giving us courage
and encouragement. Giving us the confidence that we would be out surely. It
seemed surreal then, but she kept telling me to be bold and support others. It
was like being scooped in a blanket of grace and love. In every Part 2 course,
I have learnt to sleep with a blanket of grace. Believe me, I can tell you with
certainity that it was ON us that night

Through the night all of you kept calling us ,smsing us and telling us how much
you are praying for us . Our parents,brothers ,sisters,sisters in law, little
nephews and nieces from UK…….your voices gave us life & kept us going.

We were giving healing to the bullet hit, teaching deep breathing to some young
boys with us to calm them down, teachimg mudras to control bladders to the old,
all the while literally hanging on to each other ,holding hands tight and
continuously chanting jai gurudev. My tongue continues to move in that chant in
a almost pavlovian way even now

Even after we came out, all of you kept calling and supporting us. Hearing the
concern and love in your voice was deeply humbling and moving for us. Anna kept
refocusing my attention by talking about designing the Mandir for our new home
to asking what I cooked ! Each one of you has kept reassuring us . This love is
our only true treasure

I have no idea what we have done to deserve all this outpour of your love,
concern,good wishes. We are just so grateful to you. It is the strength of your
sadhana and sankalpa that rescued 100 of us that fateful thursday morning. As
you know only about 8 people have come out alive from the taj after that

Many many people we know, top lawyers,bankers ,leading business heads have not
been as lucky as us. They were victims of indiscriminate firing. Dalus son
Shaan and daughter Shivanis 4 friends have losts either both or one set of
parents.3 of our friends were stuck in Trident and rescued only yesterday
morning after 36 hours and are in deep trauma

Writing this is a cathartic experience for me.
Going through this, a jolting wake up call to appreciate the value of every
living moment of life, the indispensiblity of spreading knowledge URGENTLY, and
above all deeply appreciating the love that surrounds us

We remain in Gratitude to you all FOREVER . Lifetimes will not suffice us to
repay this love

Apart from our anniversary, Ajay and I now share a birthday too.Nov 27th

Bangalore, Nov 28 (IANS) Indian spiritual guru His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Friday condemned the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, saying India “is going through a terrible time”.”This terrorist attack has left Indians in the grip of fear and anxiety. In this situation, religious and political leaders need to show the country that we stand together against terrorism,”

In a Knowledge sheet on Terrorism Guruji says this

The act which is only destructive and inflicts suffering both on oneself and others is terrorism. In such an act, human values are lost in the process of achieving a goal.

Some of the factors that lead to terrorism are:
Frustration and desperation to achieve a goal
Confused emotion
Shortsightedness and Impulsive action
Belief in a non-verifiable concept of heaven and merit; a childish concept of God favoring some and angry at others, thereby undermining the omniscience and omnipotence of the Divine.

Terrorism induces fear psychosis in all, increases poverty, suffering and loss of life with no apparent gains. Instead of solutions the terrorist looks for destruction as an answer. If you simply criticize without giving a solution, know that this criticism comes from the same seed as terrorism!

Although there are certain qualities you can appreciate in a terrorist such as:

* Fearlessness
* Commitment to a goal
* Sacrifice

You will have to learn from them things that you should never do:

* Valuing some ideas and concepts more than life.
* Having a narrow perspective of life and dishonoring its diversity.

The Remedy for terrorism is:

* Inculcate a broader perspective of life — value life more than race, religion and nationality.
* Educate people in human values – friendliness, compassion, cooperation and upliftment.
* Teach methods to release stress and tension.
* Cultivate confidence in achieving noble aims by peaceful and nonviolent means.
* Create spiritual upliftment which can weed out destructive tendencies.